The Evil Force, The Heylin Legend
by Jewel1001
Summary: Six years after the series ends. The Heylin side is almost defeated, members scarce, and evil is desperate. So when Chase and Wuya discover a legend - that involves them both - can they believe it will work? What they have to do is not easy, or pleasant.
1. Prologue

Hazeru - This is my first attempt at ChasexWuya.

Hera - Give it a bit to let the story flow :)

Hazeru - And please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Xiaolin Showdown

Prologue

Evil was dieing.

It wasn't just a group, or a personal favourite; it was a way of life. And it was being wiped out.

The Xiaolin warriors had multiplied, spread out like a virus and wherever they went, evil forces fell. Years ago, Wuya would have been able to name various evil allies that she could have called on had it been truly necessary.

Now, there was next to no-one. The Xiaolin monks - so much more grown up than they had been six years ago, truly teenagers now instead of youngsters - had recruited where they could, and nowadays, there were far more of them. The only ones Wuya saw regularly - at showdowns mainly - were the original four, still led by Raimundo Pedrosa, and they posed the biggest threat.

Truly, they were more annoying and more powerful than evil before. The Xiaolin side was growing and growing, more potent and more powerful every day …

And that Heylin side was getting desperate.

Most of the smaller forces had long since dropped out of the battle until the main bulk of the battles were over. It was akin to a small war, in a way, but only that those who had an interest in shen gong wu or world domination had a part in.

People like Tubbimura and Pandabubba were gone now, as was Katnappe, and Cyclops.

Surprisingly - seriously - Jack Spicer was still around. Wuya assumed that it was because he was not exactly a true member of the Heylin, more just an annoying teenager - though now older and more mature now than he had been six years ago - who swung more towards the side of evil. He was almost certainly still around because the Xiaolin found him too amusing to actually dispose of - most of the fallen Heylin were rotting in the Xiaolin prison that had been specially built somewhere underground in Tokyo, watched over by elder monks. No actual cruelty went on inside but their freedom was restricted to one building and their powers were stripped.

Long story short, Jack Spicer wasn't important enough to the Heylin to be trapped in the Xiaolin prison. And Wuya had no desire to end up trapped there herself, especially when she didn't have all her powers to defended herself with; Chase Young had given her back her glorious body years ago, but without her full power, and she had yet to have them restored.

Yes, the Heylin side was gradually, over the six years and ongoing, weakening. Overwhelmed by the sudden strength of the Xiaolin and weakened by their decreasing numbers, many had been forced to go into hiding or to withdraw from showdowns.

Wuya still showed up at the showdowns, but she never lingered nowadays. Without her powers, she doubted her abilities. If only she was all powerful again - she'd show them what she could do! She wipe the damn floor with them!

But alas, she wasn't as powerful as she once was, and so couldn't take on all four monks with any hope of a suitable victory.

In fact, the only Heylin who still stood a chance against the Xiaolin monks were Chase Young and Hannibal Roy Bean. Only they had martial arts skills advanced enough to take on the monks; and even they had stopped showing up as frequently.

/

Wuya sighed as she sat herself down for dinner. She usually ate alone, but tonight she was dining with her 'roommate', as it were.

About two years ago, when the protection of having another Heylin member in close proximity had become logical to them both, Wuya had moved back in with Chase Young. It was true that they occasionally fought, but they usually got on much better than they had before the 'war'.

Nowadays, Chase wasn't quite so superior, though he still thought himself above Wuya. And Wuya's lust for shen gong wu had somewhat decreased; it had had to, if she wanted to survive outside of a prison run by monks - a fact she was still unhappy with.

She glanced up over her spoon, poised in midair, at her fellow member of evil. Chase was eating in silence, barely acknowledging her presence at the moment.

Well, she wasn't having any of that.

"The monks traced Hannibal Bean today" she commented, her tone conversational. "They almost had him, but the little cheese ball made a grab for him too early and he was able to escape."

Chase glanced at her and nodded to show that he had heard her but passed no comment. Probably he couldn't decide whose side to take, Omi's - a Xiaolin monk - or Hannibal's - his oldest enemy - and thought it best to say nothing at all so as not to give anything away.

Chase was just like that.

But she wasn't giving up - eating in silence was just one of those things that she found irritating.

"You know, Chase, I read the strangest thing today, in one of the old Heylin scrolls in the library."

Chase raised one eyebrow; his only sign that he was interested.

"It said something about the dieing out of the forces of evil, and I kept reading because that's pretty much what's going on. It said something about a force born of nothing but evil" she continued. "I couldn't understand a lot of it, but I got the gist of it."

"Which was?" Chase asked carefully.

"Basically, if two really, really evil beings get together and have a child together, if said child is raised completely in the ways of the Heylin, then it will be the most evil force in the world."

Chase froze and stared at the old Heylin witch, for once at a loss for words.

"Which scroll was this?" he asked, after a few minutes of silence, save for the occasional clanking of spoons against expensive bowls and plates.

"The Legends Of The Heylin" Wuya replied honestly.

And then she was left alone as Chase Young swept away from the table and out the door, heading towards the library to locate the scroll that the witch had told him about, to read a section that he never had before …

The one which he now discovered applied directly to him, and to the Heylin's present situation, and to Wuya …

Hazeru - Any guesses as to what's going on? xD

Hera - No flames. Please R&R


	2. Chapter 1

Hazeru - Hopefully this is clear enough, lol.

Hera - She has a tendancy to confuse herself, hope it all makes sense to you readers.

Disclaimer: I do not own Xiaolin Showdown

Chapter 1

"Wuya, come over here" Chase said, his tone leaving no room for argument from the ancient Heylin witch, though she did grumble under her breath. "I have been reading up on that old Heylin legend you found, and what I have discovered is really quite interesting."

Wuya frowned slightly; she barely remembered their conversation that had taken place a week ago, which had ended with Chase leaving the room. She had found him in the library several hours later, but he would not be drawn out and she had left him to it and instead favoured her constant hunt for shen gong wu.

Now, she just asked him what he was talking about, to which he replied that she already knew. That annoyed her a little; she didn't know. She hadn't been that focused on the conversation, considering it had been just another talk with the Heylin warlord.

"The legend says that if two truly evil people reproduce and raise entirely evil offspring, then that offspring will be so completely evil that it may be able to recover the Heylin from this present, rather disturbing situation."

"I know what the legend says" Wuya retorted, effectively showing to the man who refused her her powers that she was already quite aware of the legend.

"No, you don't know" Chase argued. "You said 'two evil beings' and nothing more. I, however, have discovered that there a particular two who need to be involved in the procreation of the child of evil."

Wuya's eyes widened in response, but no words passed through her lips; she was waiting for her partner-in-evil to elaborate.

"The necessary two must be, obviously, a male and a female. They must be similar in age, similar in original power, and above all, truly Heylin." There was a minor pause, a rare hesitation in Chase's speech, and then he continued, "I am aware that your power is now sufficiently less than mine, however, your original powers were far stronger; inferior to my own, it is true, but not weak in the least."

Wuya's lip curled in anger at a few judgemental comments, but she wisely held her tongue, wanting to know what point the warlord was trying to make.

Although, when he said the fateful words, she wished that she could slap her hands over his mouth and make him take them back.

"We are the chosen two."

And with those words, Wuya's world came crashing down on top of her, a burden to bear on her shoulders like an enormous weight, and her knees began to feel weak.

She barely heard Chase recite the riddle form the Heylin scroll - recited from memory, she might've noticed at a better time - which dictated that the two opponents who are partners in evil must bear a Heylin child that will recover the Heylin way of life and become a truly, deeply evil force.

/

No.

That was her first instinct. No, no, no!

And yet, when Chase glared at her, awaiting her response, she nodded dumbly, unable to make her lips form the shapes of the millions of words she wanted to scream at him.

There was no way in Hell - in any darker region than Hell - that she was going to sacrifice and destroy her gorgeous body just to have some whining infant that would undoubtedly drive her insane over time. Why, she'd smother the child at birth! - Wuya had seen newborn children in her time and she had never liked what she saw. Babies were, in short, not her thing in the slightest.

And nor where they Chase Young's.

Similar thoughts were running around his mind even now. He was aware - as was Wuya - that the only way to stop the ever-growing Xiaolin force was to create this evil child. He owed it to evil, which he had served for fifteen hundred years, and yet, he truly wanted to opt out.

Number one, Chase hated children. Number two, Chase did not find Wuya attractive in any way. And number three, any child he and Wuya had created would undoubtedly grow up in a loveless, merciless family of evil, under a mother who had no interest in her child and a father who saw the child as a pupil and nothing more.

And this, Chase realised, was why they were the perfect choice.

A child brought up in that manner would be disturbed and angered, miserable from an early age, and more likely to be merciless and truly evil. He or she would be the perfect choice, when they reached a ripe enough age, to take on the Xiaolin and end their reign of goodness.

Chase sighed; he would do it. He would have to do it. If he didn't, then evil might be finished, and with it would go all his ambitions of taking over the world. He knew he was able, if the Xiaolin would only get out of his damn way!

Maybe, if a truly evil child ridded the world of them …

/

It took a long, in depth discussion about the need of the side of evil and the enemy of the Xiaolin and their own, dubious relationship before Wuya agreed to go along with Chase's plan.

His plan called for them to create a child together, for Wuya to carry and give birth to said child, and then for them to raise it in the ways of evil. After the child was conceived, there was to be nothing ever said again of what it took to conceive said child, and their relationship would return to its former state of evil partnership.

So once Wuya was knocked up, they would not engage in any activities.

Not that the two greatly looked forward to such activities …

Chase did not find Wuya physically attractive and knew that engaging in sexual intercourse with her - the legend demanded that the conception of the child be a natural one - was going to be almost difficult.

Wuya was worried about her body. She couldn't honestly say that she didn't find the Heylin warlord attractive - she thought him to be akin to a work of art - but she also knew that the feeling was not mutual. There was the whole issue of a pregnancy, which she did not look forward to and hoped that Chase would get her shen gong wu during those terrible nine months. And lastly, there was the problem that Chase was, technically, a dragon; dragons were not exactly known for being gentle lovers.

But, ultimately, the agreement was made. The two would conceive the child.

All the older Heylin legends dictated in the scroll had come true over the last fifteen hundred years. They were more predictions than legends, the two suspected individually. So hopefully, if the pattern was constant, then their child would be able to save the side of evil from the disgusting light of good.

And the first step to creating the evil protégé, was the conception …

It wasn't going to be pleasant.

So they might as well get it over with tonight.

Hazeru - I can't see them romantically falling in love over night, so yeah, I made them reluctant.

Hera - Please R&R. No flames.


	3. Chapter 2

Hazeru - I am SO, SO, SO, SO, SO sorry for not updating in forever.

Hera - We are determined to update and finish this story.

Hazeru - Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Xiaolin Showdown

Chapter 2

There was not enough soap in this lair or in the country or in the world to make him feel truly clean again. He deeply hoped that a child had been conceived tonight, for Chase Young had no desires to bed the Heylin witch again as long as he lived.

This was not the first night he and Wuya had 'gone to bed together'. It was the fifth and by now he was incredibly annoyed – and blaming the witch for the misfortune – that Wuya had not conceived on their first night together. So much for one night and then all was over; he could only hope that this night would be their last together. Wuya's sneer and cold green eyes were a major turn off and when trying to impregnate the very woman, it was not helpful in the slightest. Never had Chase found the act of sex to be so undesirable and difficult in all his fifteen hundred years as when he moved within the witch.

Once he had scrubbed his skin forty-five times over with three different kinds of soap, Chase Young finally made his way to bed, thankful to find the Heylin witch already gone, mostly likely to scrub off all traces of their activity as he himself had done. She was enjoying it no more than he was, for although she did find Chase remarkably easy on the eyes, he was a rough lover – as all dragons were known to be – and she had bled more in the past few days than in the past fifteen hundred years.

In short, four previous unsuccessful attempts and unwanted sex had forced the two into making a potion, using ancient Heylin magic, to increase the witch's chances of successfully conceiving a child. The legend dictate that the conception must be natural, but did not say anything specifically against such potions, and neither thought it would harm their chances.

Chase lay down and pulled the covers off his unclothed body, wishing that he believing in some form of deity just for the reason that he wanted to be able to pray to something that Wuya would finally conceive and that he'd never again have to touch her.

Little did he know, Wuya's thoughts were almost identical to his own as she lay down in her own bed that night.

/

The witch bit her lip as she let a single droplet of blood fall from the tip of her finger into the waiting mixture in what was essentially a cauldron; the potion inside was set up, for the fifth time, to determine whether or not a person was pregnant by mixing the contents with a drop of that person's blood – it was old magic. Chase had mixed it up that morning and then, none too gently, used his own claw to cut the tip of Wuya's middle finger.

The two waited, both holding their breath. The potion's natural state was a calm, yellow colour. If a person was pregnant, it would turn a brilliant blue, and if they were not, it would turn a sharp red. The last four times they had tried this, they'd been rewarded each time with an unwanted red colour.

This time, however, their wishes were granted and, at last, the yellow faded into a sort of green and then into an electric blue.

Chase blinked in surprise – it looked like there was no need for a deity, their fifth try had been successful after all – but hid his shock behind a smirk.

Wuya, on the other hand, was not so composed. She gasped and took three steps back, away from the cauldron, her hands shaking and her eyes wide. This was real, this was really happening! Up until now, it had just been a legend that forced them to sleep together – now, she was honestly having a child.

She didn't want it. For a split second she was filled with the almost unbearable desire to claw her uterus out with her own nails, but of course she did not. Her fear for her precious body had to take second place to her craving for shen gong wu and sheer power, and having this child with Chase Young could ensure that evil would triumph and that the Xiaolin threat would be extinguished. This was her one chance!

Chase watched her with great interest, wondering if she was going to run or collapse; she instead stood rooted to the spot, looking like, as the saying goes, a deer caught in headlights. He himself was equally as shocked – no matter what the background story of this whole ordeal was, he was going to be a father! - but was more visibly composed than his partner, with no more than a slight paling of the face betraying his inner worries.

It took only a few moments for Chase to silently depart in favour of training, leaving behind a flustered Heylin witch who, on her own and out of the perceptive eyes of the father of the child she now carried, fell to her knees and punched the ground hard enough to drive her fist straight through the floor.

Hazeru - Sorry it's so short, the next one will be longer.

Hera - Well, Wuya's knocked up. How will things go from here?

Hazeru - Please R&R.


	4. Chapter 3

Hazeru - Here's the next chapter.

Hera - Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Xiaolin Showdown.

Chapter 3

_Two Weeks Later_

It was several days before Wuya and Chase deigned to speak to one another following their discovery, and the conversation was hardly what one could call pleasant: regardless of what had been said, it had ended with Wuya flouncing off, proclaiming that she was done with this and wanted the kid out of her before it ruined her body. Of course, she had not acted upon these words – much to Chase's glee, considering that this had been his prediction – and was now, two weeks after finding out she was pregnant, barely talking to Chase Young and still carrying his child.

These had been the longest two weeks of her life. She found that she almost – not quite but almost – missed that little puzzle box that Dashi, and then Raimundo, had trapped her in. At least she had been on her own there, free of a moody dragon warlord and an unborn child that ... well, that she truly couldn't tell was there.

Wuya was most surprised at that; she was two weeks into her pregnancy and honestly felt no different. There was no swelling and she was, so far, free of craving and morning sickness. However, she was aware that it was normal for her not to feel anything only two weeks in; give it a month or two, and maybe she would be missing this calmness.

Wuya was currently lounging by the pool of crystal clear water in the lair; her feet were peacefully immersed in the cool of the water and her sharp eyes were closed in relaxation. Around her, she could feel, rather than see, the jungle cats, and it occurred to her that, for the first time since she had come to this place, she was under their protection. Chase must have ordered them to protect her so long as she was carrying their evil offspring – perhaps she had underestimated just how desperate he himself was to have evil back to the standard it used to be at, when the monks feared the Heylin rather than got kicks out of beating them.

She took a deep breath as a reminder that she was doing this for evil. It was all for the sake of evil. As soon as this child had beaten the side of good, she could rule the world and there would be nobody to stop her; even the child would not harm her, considering that she was his or her mother.

Ah, and there was another little question niggling at the back of her mind. Despite the circumstances, Wuya wondered if the baby was going to be born male or female. Which would be more intimidating to the side of good, she wondered? Whichever it was, the child had better be damn well the most evil force ever to exist so that it could hurry up and wipe out good; the sooner that was over and done with, the sooner Wuya could claim all the shen gong wu and regain her powers. Once she had her powers back, evil world domination would be hers for the taking.

The water began to feel a little warmer around her feet – her body heat was slowly warming it – and she moved her legs in order to feel more coolness; the day was relatively hot and she found the cool to be relaxing.

However, things were relaxing for only a few more moments before she felt a ripple run through her body and soul, her figure shuddering in realisation: a new shen gong wu had revealed itself!

"I'm sensing a shen gong wu" Wuya hissed. "I have to..."

"To what?"

Gulping a little, Wuya turned around to meet the golden eyes of Chase Young, already irritated that he was here and so she could not simply sneak off to find the new wu without his notice.

"A new shen gong wu's gone active in the Himalayas" Wuya told him, successfully keeping any worriment out of her voice as she stood to face him. "We should leave now before the monks realise that..."

She stopped in her tracks when she saw Chase shaking his head.

"There is no way that I will allow you to enter a Xiaolin showdown at this time. The first thirteen weeks are the time in which you are most likely to lose the child and I have no desire to attempt further procreation."

Wuya glared at him; did he actually think that she had _enjoyed_ it? Sure, Chase was a fiendishly good-looking man, in an evil sort of way, but he sure as hell hadn't been gentle with her, and while Wuya appreciated at certain amount of roughness in the bedroom, there were limits that he had gone far beyond.

"We can't stop hunting the wu for nine months!" Wuya hissed. "Or even thirteen weeks!"

The very thought of not even bothering to go after the shen gong wu for even just thirteen weeks was, in the witch's mind, simply lunacy and pure foolishness.

Chase opened his mouth to begin saying something, but seemed to reconsider, leaving the Heylin witch confused; at least, until he grudgingly spoke.

"I will participate in showdowns. However, you are staying here."

Wuya found this almost as bad – she knew that Chase had little interest in shen gong wu and may not fight for them in the way that she herself automatically would. However, before she could even open her mouth to protest, a crack of black lighting reigned down around the warlord and when it disappeared, he too was gone.

Wuya frowned; damn teleportation always took him away from undesirable situations and conversations, even when she wanted to continue them. Oh well, she could yell at him later.

Or glare behind his back, at least.

For now, she would just hold back and think up a plan to get out of the lair without him noticing next time a shen gong wu went active. There was little point in going now, after all, considering that Chase was already gone. However, if he thought that she was just going to sit at home and wait until he returned each time, he was mistaken.

If he wasn't going to allow her to accompany him or to go on her on, then she'd just have to sneak out regardless. After all, she may be pregnant with – she shuddered – his child, but that didn't mean she was taking orders from him.

Hazeru - What will Wuya's plans be? Will Chase get the new wu?

Hera - Please R&R.


	5. Chapter 4

Hazeru - Sorry for the wait, here's the next chapter.

Hera - Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Xiaolin Showdown

Chapter 4

_Six Weeks Later_

As it turned out, Wuya didn't really need to bother with devising her 'brilliant strategy' for getting out of the lair undetected – since the last shen gong wu had gone active in the Himalayas, which had been won by Chase Young, there had been very few new wu going active. Those that did go active were fought over by Jack Spicer and the monks and, whenever the mood struck him, Chase as well; they were split between the three parties, and not very fairly.

Wuya had only once managed to sneak out; for the most part, she was stopped by the jungle cats, and the one time she had evaded them – not an easy task – it had taken her so long that by the time she got there, the showdown was over and the only satisfaction she got was the shock on Chase's face when he saw her there.

In short, Wuya was bored and irritated, both by the lack of opportunity to get more shen gong wu and by her pregnancy. By this point, the Heylin witch was two full months into the pregnancy; eight weeks in, meaning that she was still in the danger zone of her pregnancy, much to her annoyance. She and Chase had an agreement that she could – whether she would or not was up for debate – go after the shen gong wu once the first thirteen weeks had passed, and she had agreed with much irritation, mainly because she resistance was futile.

Her pregnancy in and of itself was driving her mad as it was; eight weeks in, she was experiencing both cravings and mood swings, as well as the dreaded morning sickness – which did _not_ limit itself to the morning, often afflicting her in the evening or the middle of the night as well. And the cravings were awful: pickles smothered in peanut butter, steak slathered in blackcurrant jam, ice-cream with hot sauce, and anything containing iron by the barrowful. No matter how good they tasted to her, she wrinkled her nose every time.

But neither the sickness nor the cravings were as bad as the mood swings. They were the very definition of humiliating torture.

The slightest insult from Chase no longer drew a witty comment from her; instead she would either stomp off as huffy as a teenager in a strop or burst into tears like a child. Any time one of the jungle cats came home wounded, she fell to her knees beside them and tended them with care – before this pregnancy, she wouldn't have even noticed, let alone done anything to help them.

The only relief the Heylin witch had was that there were still no physical signs of her pregnancy being in action; no swelling or other effects, not even back pains, although she dubiously wondered if those would accompany the later months.

If she ever _got_ to the later months, that was. Considering her deep frustration at only eight weeks, Wuya was beginning to wonder if she would even be able to continue once the swelling started; it was entirely possible that she'd cut it out of her body herself, if it came to it. She had been tempted before.

All of this did not go unnoticed by her 'partner'. Chase Young had never bothered with the witch's health before, but now that she was carrying the only hope evil had, he was suddenly very interested in her general health, no matter how snippy she might be with him.

That wasn't to say that she wasn't severely testing his patience; she was, undeniably so. It had not gone unnoticed by her that he would cater to her every whim – well, at least that he'd have the jungle cats cater to her every whim. She had only to casually mention that she was hungry and suddenly dinner would arrive three hours early; any mention of aches and pains caused her to be immediately transported to her comfortable bedroom; complaints of morning sickness brought tablets and cool clothes to her instantaneously.

Not to mention that the mood swings were always very interesting – they'd have been rather entertaining to an audience – considering how varied they could be. Chase steered well clear of her moods and tempers, but the swings that brought on the tears seemed to half interest him and half terrify him. None of the jungle cats could do anything for the witch, and Chase became increasingly agitated every time Wuya locked herself in her room, weeping over who-knew-what-this-time.

As it was, this time, Wuya's current mood swing had not reduced her to tears, but rather to shouting and screaming at anyone within the general vicinity. Sitting upon his throne, Chase bit his lip to stop himself from screaming at her; the last time he'd done so, they'd only ended up in a pathetic argument, and he was nothing if not a quick learner.

The warlord busied himself with trying to ignore her yelling and read a book, covering one sensitive ear with his hand and wishing he had a third hand so he could cover the other; he did so hate reading books that were levitating, they were so much nicer to read when in one's own hand.

Wuya affected not to notice, still occupied with shouting at an unfortunate tiger about how the temperature of the room was wrong, it was far too hot, did they want her to melt? It seemed to have escaped her memory that Chase – part lizard, really – preferred it this way. But although the witch usually enjoyed warm weather, her pregnancy was indeed having strange effects on her preferences.

Chase eventually heaved a sigh of annoyance, realising that this was a particularly powerful mood swing, and that if he wanted her to calm down, he'd have to do it himself. He tried not to frown at her, tried to keep his face expressionless, as he walked over to the witch, already steeling himself for more screaming;

"Wuya, calm down and be reasonable. The temperature in here is perfectly mild" he said through gritted teeth. "If you want it to be cooler, go to the fountain and splash some water on your face."

"What, so now you're saying I'm not clean and need a wash!" the witch hissed.

"I didn't say that" he hissed back, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

"Oh, but you implied it!"

"Just keep the volume down" he insisted, turning to walk away, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder, the grip tight. "What now?"

"Don't think you can just walk away! We're in the middle of a debate and you're just going to turn and leave?"

"This is not a debate!"

And with that, his patience was definitely at an end; Chase teleported away before she could stop him, going to find a more peaceful spot and pray to all that was evil that his child was going to be worth his efforts.

Hazeru - This won't be the last mood swing we see. What will the next one be like?

Hera - Please R&R.


	6. Chapter 5

Hazeru - So. This story finally gets an update ... months overdue. It hasn't been abandoned!

Hera - We're really sorry about the wait. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Xiaolin Showdown.

Chapter 5

_One Week Later..._

"I don't want it."

She didn't, she truly didn't. That disgusting combination of banana ice-cream, hot sauce and apple jelly was entirely revolting; it looked as undesirable as it tasted and yet the ancient Heylin witch could feel her body crying out to her in desperation. Wuya may not have wanted the mixture but her body betrayed her, and the unborn child within her had other ideas. And just like she always did - because her cravings always started off as desire but mutated into need - she gave into her body's wishes and scooped the entire loathesome meal into her mouth, shuddering as she swallowed.

It was horrible - not just the food, but the entire situation. She felt hopelessly helpless and it was like she no longer had any control over her body. Since her restoration to the flesh several years ago at the hands of Chase Young, it was true that she was limited in her powers but equally true that she had full basic control over her body. Now, it seemed that even that fundamental right had abandoned her.

Her stomach ruled her mind in the form of cravings that were far too difficult to simply ignore; she routinely fled from the room to empty the contents only hours later. Her moodswings were becoming more and more unbearable, and as time was wearing on, Chase was becoming less patient with her. Now he seemed to have decided to avoid her entirely - she saw him at mealtimes and occasionally she noticed him levitating in deep meditation, but he no longer enquired about her health. She suspected that he was having his jungle cats alert him to any trouble so that he wouldn't have to see her in person any more than he deemed acceptable.

His idea of 'acceptable' was totally different to hers; she thought that, as the father of the child she was forced to carry, he ought to personally cater to her every desire, and do it with a damn smile on his face. Preferably whilst bowing to her and calling her ma'am - while wearing a suit.

Wuya tossed her empty bowl aside, knowing the cats would see to it as soon as she'd vacated the room. Not that she was in any hurry to leave. Where would she go? There were another four weeks until the vital thirteen weeks were over, and the cats had her under what she called house-arrest; it was like being grounded, something which she had heard parents did as a punishment for their children.

How would she punish her child when it misbehaved? Would it ever, or would the child's 'misbehaviour' be something which any evil person like herself would actually approve of? Surely the only thing the child could do which was bad, by her standards, would be turning to the side of good. And that was never going to happen; she refused to let it happen. If she was going to complete this pregnancy - and not a day passed when she did not consider ending it and telling Chase that if he wanted a kid he could find a way to knock up Hannibal Bean - then she was damn well going to have an evil heir who could destroy the Xiaolin monks and let the Heylin rule.

/

The same day, Wuya saw Chase Young over the dinner table. She hadn't seen him in over twelve hours and wondered what he'd been up to - when one is evil, one can get a lot done in a small space of time - but refused to ask. It would look too domestic, too much like a housewife asking her husband how his day at work was.

Instead she consumed her meal in silence, all the while wondering how the warriors who had cooked this food had known that she had been craving roast beef, spinach and marmalade all day. The ice-cream that she'd had that morning just wasn't enough - she didn't even like marmalade but her body demanded it. Chase passed no comment on her silence and did not initiate any conversation himself; it was a very quiet meal.

Well, a very quiet half-a-meal. Before the second course - part meat, part salad and part dessert - could be brought to the table, Wuya had turned ghostly white and fled from the table, sprinting towards the nearest bathroom. Chase was instantly on his feet on pure reflex, but he remained motionless instead of following her. He was fully aware that, as the father of Wuya's unborn child, he was almost duty bound to follow her and aid her through the suffering that was morning sickness - even if it never did limit itself to morning hours - but of course he would not. He was Chase Young.

And he sat himself back down and clicked his fingers; instantaneously, a lavish selection of dishes appeared on the table before him, and he returned to his meal. He had already eaten half of a thick wedge of ham when the Heylin witch reappeared, shivering a little but feeling much better. Wuya glared at him - it would be nice to have someone to punch between bouts of vomiting - but didn't say anything.

It wasn't like she had any delusions about him, anyway. She knew that he was only tolerating her presence in his home for, as they had once put it, the sake of evil. She knew that he wouldn't have wanted a child with her unless the situation was as desperate as it truly was, and she was all too aware that his patience with her - wavering and constantly diminishing - was based entirely on her not miscarrying the baby, not out of affection for her.

These thoughts swarmed around the mind of the witch even as she plucked up a sweet pear and bit into it, two tears falling from her unnatural eyes as her teeth ripped the flesh away from the fruit. She knew that she was crying but she did not react to the tears, not even to wipe them away; by now she was used to weeping at odd intervals for no obvious reason. This was just a mood swing.

But just because the Heylin witch knew why she was crying, didn't mean that she could just stop. She slowly devoured the fruit in her hand, sharp teeth pulling off strips and chunks of sweet flesh, until nothing but the core remained. Then she flung it away and used her hands to cover her face, awaiting the time when the tears stopped. She would have walked away to do this in private but she knew - from experience - that this would not last very long, and she was still hungry.

From across the table, the ancient warlord watched as Wuya cried silent tears. He focused on the meal in front of him - tiramasu with cream and coffee - but even as he put another bite into his mouth, he had little appetite for it. The witch was unnerving him, to say the least, and he had no idea how to react. He _wanted _to tell her to stop being so dramatic but the last time he had done so it had not gone over well; he did _not _want a repeat of a screaming witch hurling spaghetti and meatballs at him.

Still, he should probably ask if she was ... okay. It was not like him to ask that sort of thing because he just didn't care - truthfully, he didn't care even now. He wanted the child to be safe as it was the only hope for the Heylin, but he honestly didn't care about Wuya herself. She was just a compatible match in evil and a warm body for the child to grow inside. But she was pregnant with his child and he was sitting right there; besides, her subtle sniffling was getting really annoying.

"Are you in pain?"

Well, it would get the information he was actually interested in: was she losing the baby? If this was just a moodswing, then his only interest lay in steering well clear of it.

Wuya looked up; her eyes were moist and red and there were tear tracks down her cheeks but the actual crying seemed to have stopped. She looked vaguely irritated. "No."

Chase nodded once, sending a clear enough message.

And much to his surprise and frustration, this was enough to send her into a fit of rage.

"You don't even _care_, do you?!" the witch cried, face flushing red with anger. "How about _you _try carrying a leech inside you!"

"Calm down" Chase said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, yes; calm down, Wuya, always _calm down_!" Wuya hissed, by now standing with her hands on her hips. "Because _obviously _the mighty Chase Young knows _just _how it feels to be hurling your guts up in the middle of dinner. Just how many kids have _you _carried, Chase? Maybe that's where all the cats came from! Since when were you the great expert on this!?"

Wuya growled once more and then sank into her seat again, arms folded and breathing heavily. Chase waited, saying nothing even though he was fully aware that he was gripping the table leg so hard it was crumbling. He didn't appreciate her taking this out on him, nor was he impressed by her not-so-subtle jabs at him.

The tension in the air was tight enough that it could have been sliced, but Chase waited until Wuya rose from her chair and floated gracefully out the room, suddenly humming a cheery-sounding tune, before allowing himself to grind the wood in his hand to pieces so that the table collapsed. Then he retired from the room, his appetite gone, to meditate.

People who said that fighting Xiaolin showdowns was a test of one's character had obviously never dealt with a pregnant witch.

* * *

><p>Hazeru - What lies ahead? Who will find out - if anyone - first? Any guesses?<p>

Hera - Please R&R.


End file.
